{"id":14320,"date":"2016-08-05T10:37:14","date_gmt":"2016-08-05T15:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=14320"},"modified":"2024-07-02T16:28:46","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T16:28:46","slug":"looking-glass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=14320","title":{"rendered":"Through the Looking Glass"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Before
Before coming to UNC in 1978, Henry Fuchs\u2019 background involved modeling chromosomes on graphics systems and constructing 3-D models from laser scans of people and objects.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

W<\/span>e live in a world where 3-D and computer graphics are an integral part of science, medicine, communication, and\u00a0entertainment.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s chemists create 3-D models of complex molecules, using them to discover properties impossible 25 years ago. Oncologists use 3-D imagery to precisely target tumors for radiation therapy. Architects have access to software that projects plans in three dimensions, allowing homebuyers to virtually walk through and see their dream homes before a building permit is even\u00a0issued.<\/p>\n

In movie theaters, the visual distinction between real and computer-generated images has vanished. Virtual actors, animals, and machines interact seamlessly with real life counterparts, and 3-D projection is commonplace. An entire new industry has emerged to create immersive virtual environments for both gaming and\u00a0training.<\/p>\n

And our world is on the cusp of being transformed by the ability to create 360-degree virtual reality environments using devices as ubiquitous as our smart\u00a0phones.<\/p>\n

In 2014, Facebook announced it would pay $2 billion to purchase the startup virtual reality company Oculus VR<\/span>. One month later, Oculus Chief Scientist Michael Abrash visited UNC<\/span> to speak to faculty and students about the revolution in technology and communication that 3-D imaging and virtual reality would bring. And he let the audience in on something few people outside the industry know: Technology that underpins much of today\u2019s computer graphics and 3-D imaging has its roots at UNC<\/span>-Chapel\u00a0Hill.<\/p>\n

A software engineering\u00a0icon<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1965, Fred Brooks sat in awe as he listened to \u201cThe Ultimate Display\u201d \u2014 Ivan Sutherland\u2019s<\/a> influential speech that asked computer scientists not to see a computer as a screen, but as a window into a world. His riveting words described a technology that would change the very makeup of the room it occupied on command \u2014 imagine a computer that could produce a chair the user can sit in or handcuffs to hold a person in the room. \u201cWith appropriate programming such a display could literally be the Wonderland into which Alice walked,\u201d Sutherland\u00a0said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew right then that I wanted to work toward that goal,\u201d Brooks says. Not long before Sutherland\u2019s speech, he had left IBM<\/span> to found the computer science department at UNC<\/span>. Today, UNC<\/span>\u2019s Department of Computer Science is a leader in the field and a key part of North Carolina\u2019s technological\u00a0history.<\/p>\n

At the time of the speech, Brooks was already a distinguished computer scientist. At IBM<\/span>, he helped develop the revolutionary System 360 project. This was the first family of computers with applications that could work on any of the systems in the family no matter the size or speed. They were also the first that could type in lowercase. Ronald Reagan awarded Brooks with the National Medal of Technology for this work in\u00a01984.<\/p>\n

Brooks also played a large role in persuading IBM<\/span> to build a new research facility in North Carolina \u2014 a move that is said to have sparked the growth of Research Triangle Park. His 1975 book, \u201cThe Mythical Man Month,\u201d is often called \u201cthe bible of software engineering,\u201d and his principles, designs, and innovations continue to influence computer scientists to this\u00a0day.<\/p>\n

In 1963, UNC<\/span> offered Brooks a position as head of the computations center, which oversaw the use of a large computer in the math department. As part of his interview, he gave a lecture to several chairs within science and math departments titled, \u201cTen Research Problems in Computer Science.\u201d One of the problems, according to Brooks, was that computer science research was extremely\u00a0limited.<\/p>\n

At the time, no one at UNC<\/span> studied computer science \u2014 in fact, there was no free-standing undergraduate degree for it until 2001 (before then, students majored in mathematics with a computer science concentration). Brooks\u2019 lecture intrigued several of the faculty enough to consider creating a department at UNC<\/span>. In 1964, they asked Brooks to lead the new Department of Information Science, which would become the Department of Computer Science in 1971. \u201cIt was the hardest decision I ever made, but it became clear in a variety of ways that was where the Lord wanted me, so here I am, 52 years later,\u201d Brooks\u00a0says.<\/p>\n

Funding was limited at first, and Brooks didn\u2019t anticipate the department ever becoming very large, so he devised a strategy for it to make a name for itself. Rather than try to cover every topic under computer science, it would focus on just a few areas, which he named the \u201cPillars of\u00a0Excellence.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of these pillars was computer\u00a0graphics.<\/p>\n

Picking up the\u00a0pace<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cGraphics had the tremendous advantage of not being respectable,\u201d Brooks says, laughing. Both engineers and mathematicians considered graphics to be outside of their respective fields. Brooks, on the other hand, saw graphics as an interactive, 3-D tool to increase the productivity of scientists and engineers \u2014 to help users better visualize and understand complex structures, seeing things they wouldn\u2019t be able to see without computer\u00a0aids.<\/p>\n

Early on, he asked the university provost for a list of researchers who would benefit most from such aids. One name caught his eye: Jan Hermans, Jr., a protein chemist studying how proteins are organized in a 3-dimensional\u00a0space.<\/p>\n

Hermans had been using wire models for his dissertation, as was the standard for the day. But by 1977, using a newly acquired graphics system from IBM<\/span>, Brooks, Hermans, and researchers from Duke were able \u2014 for the first time in the world \u2014 to predict and generate a 3-D computer model of a\u00a0protein.<\/p>\n

For the next 30 years, chemists from around the continent came to UNC<\/span> to study proteins on the graphics system. The department soon recognized the value in collaborating with the best minds in a given field, even if that field had little to do with the narrow definition of computer science that was then prevalent. \u201cOne of the best ways to do good computer science is to collaborate with really good people,\u201d Brooks says. \u201cThat\u2019s been a philosophy of the department ever\u00a0since.\u201d<\/p>\n

Protein research needed visual displays, not necessarily realistic ones, but computer science researchers like Henry Fuchs<\/a> still dreamed of creating truly immersive virtual environments. In 1978, Fuchs came to UNC<\/span> with a history of modeling chromosomes on graphics systems and constructing 3-D models from laser scans of people and objects.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found kindred spirits here immediately,\u201d Fuchs says. He, Brooks, and Steve Pizer<\/a> \u2014 a researcher developing medical imaging \u2014 discussed the possibility of obtaining a mini computer powerful enough to run the programs they were developing. Until that time, it was standard practice for computer scientists to write programs on a set of cards and submit those to a central\u00a0computer.<\/p>\n

This need for speed led to the development of a technology called Pixel Planes at UNC<\/span> in 1980. The new approach for designing graphics hardware allocated one processor per pixel on screen \u2014 meaning that many parts of the images on screen were generated simultaneously, vastly improving the speed at which graphics could be produced. Work on Pixel Planes continued at UNC<\/span> through 1997, when the final iteration of the project, Pixel Flow, was\u00a0developed.<\/p>\n

The Pixel Planes technology was revolutionary. It established a platform from which much of today\u2019s computer graphics and 3-D technology emerged. \u201cMany people in the industry now say if you look at the insides of graphics processing units, many of the ideas started out with the Pixel Planes series of machines,\u201d Fuchs\u00a0says.<\/p>\n

Navigating the ultimate\u00a0display<\/strong><\/p>\n

Building a true virtual environment requires much more than just graphics and, today, UNC<\/span> computer scientists are tackling the task of making these environments more immersive. Professors Ming Lin<\/a> and Dinesh Manocha<\/a> have extensively researched how to make the sound in these environments realistic. Lin has also focused on the physics of complex materials like liquids, clothes, and hair, and how to make them more lifelike.<\/p>\n

\"Dinesh
Dinesh Manocha (left) and Ming Lin hold a computer showcasing a modeling and simulation program called OneSAF (One Semi-Automated Forces), a defense technology and simulation tranining they developed to teach soldiers how to stay alive in the combat zone. (photo by Steve Exum)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Research like that opens doors for students \u2014 doors to jobs that could not have been imagined when Brooks and Fuchs began their work. Kelly Ward, one of Lin\u2019s PhD students, was hired by Disney to do the computer modeling of Rapunzel\u2019s hair for the animated hit movie\u00a0\u201cTangled.\u201d<\/p>\n

Researchers at UNC<\/span> are also exploring how to make these animations feel<\/em> real, using a mechanical simulation called force feedback, which recreates the sense of touch by applying vibrations or motions to the user in a virtual environment. At UNC<\/span>, researchers have accomplished this through a drug docking simulation using a real, mechanical arm. Biochemistry students feel the arm push back as they try to find where the drug could bind to the molecule on screen, and then feel it slide neatly into place upon success. With force feedback turned on, they can find the right spot on the molecule in half the time it takes without the\u00a0technology.<\/p>\n

Now, Fuchs says, much of the department\u2019s work focuses on decreasing something called latency \u2014 the time between user input into a virtual environment and the environment\u2019s reaction to it. When a user with a virtual reality (VR<\/span>) headset turns his head, the software has to generate new parts of the simulation based on where the user is looking. Lower latency means this will happen more quickly, and consequently look more\u00a0realistic.<\/p>\n

Fuchs\u2019 recent work has focused on virtual reality problems like this. One of his systems helped solve some of the latency issues in VR<\/span> headsets by improving the speed at which a VR<\/span> system tracks a user\u2019s eyes. Like a ship captain uses stars to navigate the sea, Fuchs\u2019 system uses hundreds of points on the ceiling to quickly find the user\u2019s line of\u00a0sight.<\/p>\n

The computer science department continues to be at the forefront of virtual reality software and is one of the few places that develops \u201ceverything in VR<\/span> from soup to nuts,\u201d Fuchs says. At IEEE<\/span> VR<\/span> 2016, the premier international conference and exhibition for VR<\/span>, UNC<\/span> took home both the \u201cBest Paper Award\u201d and \u201cHonorable Mention for Best\u00a0Paper.\u201d<\/p>\n

Continuing the\u00a0legacy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today, some of the most tangible benefits of UNC<\/span>\u2019s computer science research are found in collaborations with medical science. In 1974, Pizer founded the Medical Image Display and Analysis Group (MIDAG<\/span>), an interdisciplinary team that uses medical imaging to improve treatments. That early collaboration led to the formation of the Biomedical Research Imaging Center in the School of Medicine. Now, Pizer and his team use virtual environments to improve targeting in radiation cancer treatments \u2014 exposing more of the tumor to radiation while keeping the healthy tissue radiation\u00a0free.<\/p>\n

A substantial amount of VR<\/span> development is currently underway at UNC<\/span>, including work on a VR<\/span> headset and a telecollaboration room<\/a> in collaboration with NVidia<\/a>, an industry leader in graphics cards. Additonal UNC<\/span> industry partnerships include research done with Microsoft, IBM<\/span>, the U.S.<\/span> Department of Defense, and Intel. Relationships like these have led to similar companies setting up shop in North Carolina. Today, Google has an office on Franklin Street and Microsoft has one at Research Triangle\u00a0Park.<\/p>\n

Members of UNC<\/span>\u2019s Department of Computer Science have also launched several startups including InnerOptic<\/a> (co-founded by Fuchs), which develops real-time visualizations for minimally invasive surgery, and a spinoff medical imaging software company called Morphormics<\/a> (co-founded by Pizer). Another business, Impulsonic, uses high-performance graphics and acoustics simulations to provide physics-based sound effects for movies, video games, and live\u00a0theatre.<\/p>\n

The computer science department has developed remarkable products over the years, but Brooks stresses the role the department\u2019s graduates play in taking what they have learned and applying it to technologies that are transforming the world. \u201cThe ideas get carried away in people,\u201d Brooks says. \u201cYou publish papers and they change some things, but it\u2019s the people that change most\u00a0things.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Brooks says is certainly true. The video game industry, for example, traces its roots to the innovative minds working in virtual reality research at UNC<\/span> in the 1990s. Graduates like Mike Capps \u2014 who served as president of the Cary-based Epic Games (creator of the Unreal Engine<\/a>) for 10 years \u2014 have helped the area make a name for itself. Today, RTP<\/span> houses more than 45 gaming companies and is the East Coast hub for the digital entertainment industry. In 2014, North Carolina\u2019s video game industry brought $102.5 million<\/a> to the state\u2019s economy, according to the Entertainment Software\u00a0Association.<\/p>\n

Other accomplished graduates include Theodore Kim and Lawrence Kesteloot \u2014 who both won Academy Awards for their work on special effects software for movies \u2014 and NVidia Research co-founder and Vice President of Research David Luebke. Other graduates have gone to work for Disney, Microsoft, Google, and Apple, as well as a handful of esteemed universities including MIT<\/span> and Stanford. These graduates are living testaments to Brooks\u2019 philosophy that a measure to a department\u2019s success comes from the impact its students have on the\u00a0world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Frederick Brooks, Jr. is a Kenan Professor of Computer Science in the College of Arts and Sciences and the founder of the Department of Computer Science at UNC<\/span>. He received an A.M.<\/span> Turing Award in 1999 for his contributions to computer architecture, operating systems and software\u00a0engineering.<\/em><\/p>\n

Henry Fuchs is the Federico Gil Distinguished Professor of Computer Science in the College of Arts and Sciences and an adjunct professor of biomedical engineering at\u00a0UNC<\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Stephen Pizer is a Kenan Professor of Computer Science in the College of Arts and Sciences at UNC<\/span>. He leads the UNC<\/span> Medical Image Display and Analysis\u00a0Group.<\/em><\/p>\n

Ming Lin is the John R. &<\/span> Louise S. Parker Distinguished Professor of Computer Science in the College of Arts and Sciences at\u00a0UNC<\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Dinesh Manocha is the Phi Delta Theta\/Matthew Mason Distinguished Professor of Computer Science in the College of Arts and Sciences at\u00a0UNC<\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Story by Patrick Seelinger, Endeavors magazine<\/a>
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 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The computer science department, based in the College of Arts and Sciences, laid the groundwork for 3-D computer-generated graphics and continues to push the boundaries of virtual environments 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